CrushAlot wrote:

Uptown wrote:Going to be interesting watching Harden and Westbrook work together in MDA's system....So while Harden is dribbling the air out of the ball, Westbrook, a 29% 3pt shooter, is going to stand in the corner? MDA needs to adjust his coaching style based on his current roster as opposed to trying to jam a square peg into a rectangular hole , but we all know, MDA doesn't make adjustments...Also, Westbrook has a strong personality, and MDA is non-confrontational...Like i said, going to be interesting.

I was thinking the same thing. Also, Mike is in the final year of his deal and most of his staff wasn’t retained. If management hires an assistant head coach he is in big trouble.

First thing I thought, westbrook doesn't run around screens like klay and curry, doesn't spot up anywhere beyond the arc, and has never played off the ball..

I don't see this working with any coach

HofstraBBall wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

Welpee wrote:

franco12 wrote:

anrst wrote:Is Dolan gonna make us trade for Paul?

I wouldn't mind Paul for a rebuilding team. I think he would make the team competitive.

I wouldn't want his contract - it's absurd.

If he gets bought out, which doesn't make sense, he will likely head to a contender.

Word on the street is CP3 is a horrible teammate. Probably not the type of vet you want on a young team.

He has a horrible contract. It will be interesting to see if OKC Ives or gets assets in a Paul trade.

It is a crazy contract. Curious to see what Miami was offering. They had Whiteside at $27M expiring and Dragic 19M expiring. Maybe if OKC gave up a couple of meaningless picks to get it done? Feel they will have to use more of those acquired picks anyway if they look to trade Paul now.(Who has one more year than Westbrook) Perhaps they acted prematurely. But they might feel that Paul, Adams and Gallo are enough to compete? Maybe they will use some of those picks to trade for a 3pt. shooter? That would still be a tough lineup. I don't think CP3 is as unhappy/loser in this as the media is making it out to be. He gets to be the main STAR once again. Has Adams to compliment his excellent PnR game and has a kick out guy like Gallo that is more than capable. Maybe he thinks he can beat teams like the Clips and Houston? OKC now has a lot of picks and can either keep CP3 and bring in pieces to compete or trade CP, Adams and Gallo for more pieces. Think the ability to win and if they can trade CP3 will dictate that.

As for Rockets. They just got better. But did they fix the problem they had with CP3 which is having two ball dominant Stars? Are they going to do the same with Westbrook that they did with CP3? That is playing as primary ball handlers individually? I personally think that Westbrook is more of a transition player than CP3. Paul was more of a half court set guy. Think that will be a difference in Westbrook and Harden being able to work. Westbrook is also coming from playing with Paul George. Another ball dominant player. One who he had no problem giving up the ball to at times. The thing that does not make sense is that in watching the Rocekts this year, they seem to have missed wing defensive players and 3pt shooting. Cant say that Westbrook fills those needs.
He is a great athlete though. Will be interesting.

The one to keep an eye out is Dantoni. He lost most of his staff and will be on the hot seat if he cant make this marriage work. The Rockets new owner wants to win now and if Dantoni cant figure things out, he will be out.

so 2 clarifications. Whiteside was already traded to Portland and CP3 has one year LESS on his contract than Westbrook.

martin wrote:

HofstraBBall wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

Welpee wrote:

franco12 wrote:

anrst wrote:Is Dolan gonna make us trade for Paul?

I wouldn't mind Paul for a rebuilding team. I think he would make the team competitive.

I wouldn't want his contract - it's absurd.

If he gets bought out, which doesn't make sense, he will likely head to a contender.

Word on the street is CP3 is a horrible teammate. Probably not the type of vet you want on a young team.

He has a horrible contract. It will be interesting to see if OKC Ives or gets assets in a Paul trade.

It is a crazy contract. Curious to see what Miami was offering. They had Whiteside at $27M expiring and Dragic 19M expiring. Maybe if OKC gave up a couple of meaningless picks to get it done? Feel they will have to use more of those acquired picks anyway if they look to trade Paul now.(Who has one more year than Westbrook) Perhaps they acted prematurely. But they might feel that Paul, Adams and Gallo are enough to compete? Maybe they will use some of those picks to trade for a 3pt. shooter? That would still be a tough lineup. I don't think CP3 is as unhappy/loser in this as the media is making it out to be. He gets to be the main STAR once again. Has Adams to compliment his excellent PnR game and has a kick out guy like Gallo that is more than capable. Maybe he thinks he can beat teams like the Clips and Houston? OKC now has a lot of picks and can either keep CP3 and bring in pieces to compete or trade CP, Adams and Gallo for more pieces. Think the ability to win and if they can trade CP3 will dictate that.

As for Rockets. They just got better. But did they fix the problem they had with CP3 which is having two ball dominant Stars? Are they going to do the same with Westbrook that they did with CP3? That is playing as primary ball handlers individually? I personally think that Westbrook is more of a transition player than CP3. Paul was more of a half court set guy. Think that will be a difference in Westbrook and Harden being able to work. Westbrook is also coming from playing with Paul George. Another ball dominant player. One who he had no problem giving up the ball to at times. The thing that does not make sense is that in watching the Rocekts this year, they seem to have missed wing defensive players and 3pt shooting. Cant say that Westbrook fills those needs.
He is a great athlete though. Will be interesting.

The one to keep an eye out is Dantoni. He lost most of his staff and will be on the hot seat if he cant make this marriage work. The Rockets new owner wants to win now and if Dantoni cant figure things out, he will be out.

so 2 clarifications. Whiteside was already traded to Portland and CP3 has one year LESS on his contract than Westbrook.

Yep, missed the Trailblazzer trade and did mix up Westbrook and Paul's contract. Thank you.

Wow, even better for OKC. Still think it was a win for the Rockets as well. Will be interesting to watch.

Uptown wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

Uptown wrote:Going to be interesting watching Harden and Westbrook work together in MDA's system....So while Harden is dribbling the air out of the ball, Westbrook, a 29% 3pt shooter, is going to stand in the corner? MDA needs to adjust his coaching style based on his current roster as opposed to trying to jam a square peg into a rectangular hole , but we all know, MDA doesn't make adjustments...Also, Westbrook has a strong personality, and MDA is non-confrontational...Like i said, going to be interesting.

I was thinking the same thing. Also, Mike is in the final year of his deal and most of his staff wasn’t retained. If management hires an assistant head coach he is in big trouble.

First sign of trouble and MDA is gone

The owner Feritita ain’t ****ing around

Jmpasq wrote:

smackeddog wrote:This offseason has been wild- teams have gone from not trading their firsts to trading ALL of their firsts

Is it the change of the odds with the draft?

You'd think the change in the draft odds would make teams more reluctant to trade their firsts, especially unprotected. Now teams have a much better shot of just missing the layoffs but ending up with a top 4 pick- it's a much bigger risk in my opinion.

knicks1248 wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

Uptown wrote:Going to be interesting watching Harden and Westbrook work together in MDA's system....So while Harden is dribbling the air out of the ball, Westbrook, a 29% 3pt shooter, is going to stand in the corner? MDA needs to adjust his coaching style based on his current roster as opposed to trying to jam a square peg into a rectangular hole , but we all know, MDA doesn't make adjustments...Also, Westbrook has a strong personality, and MDA is non-confrontational...Like i said, going to be interesting.

I was thinking the same thing. Also, Mike is in the final year of his deal and most of his staff wasn’t retained. If management hires an assistant head coach he is in big trouble.

First thing I thought, westbrook doesn't run around screens like klay and curry, doesn't spot up anywhere beyond the arc, and has never played off the ball..

I don't see this working with any coach

WB and Harden will take turns in isolation. Harden will stay more behind the arc when both are on the floor.

I think Pringles is completely misunderstood. He's been asked before in interviews why he doesn't make Player X do this or that. He says plainly, if I ask and they don't do it, what can I do? It's easier to replace the coach most of the time.

Is this a perfect fit? No, but it's the best the Rockets could do given the situation.

Teams and GMs KNOW that most of the moves they make won't work out, but what choice do they have, they HAVE TO TRY TO GET BETTER SOMEHOW. Even if it's a 1 percent chance in the dark.

MDA is a fantastic coach in a system and league designed to let the ****wits run the asylum. Some of you probably work in some ****ed up workplaces. Drama, gossip, politics, nepotism, unneeded bull****. But sometimes you have to know when you can't win the war, just fight a few key battles for your sanity until you make your next move.

smackeddog wrote:

TripleThreat wrote:

Jmpasq wrote:

smackeddog wrote:This offseason has been wild- teams have gone from not trading their firsts to trading ALL of their firsts

Is it the change of the odds with the draft?

GMs are trading against a future they are never likely to see.

Take the Jets back a while. They drafted Mangold and Brick. It's important to build a solid offensive line. But to realize the benefits of that kind of drafting usually extends past the useful life of said Coach and GM in place when the decision is made.

Whereas if you draft a QB1 who doesn't quite pan out, i.e. like a Tannehill, then you buy yourself more time. Or you might feel pressure to get into the playoffs and you splash hard in FA or draft guys who can Band Aid your team right now, but will likely hurt your long term winning prospects.

If you wait, you might end up with a Zinger situation. So you might as well go for it right now if the trade is there for you.

BUT, before knicks1248 says another dumb ass thing, you have to have the ASSETS in place to make that kind of trade in the first place, which just takes quite a bit of time. Look at the Chris Paul to the Clippers trade, that cost the Clippers assets acquired over a long period of time.

You build through the draft, but you stay open to opportunities as they arise, but you can only STRIKE at said opportunities if you have draft and drafted assets to trade in the first place.

NBA really needs to further limit how far into the future you can trade your picks, and how many you can send in one transaction- it's really not fair on future fans and GMs

Knicks and its fans are the living embodiment to this. While many cheered the inclusion of Melo many were cringing on the reliance JR smith and the empty cupboard to make further improvements.

As to “what is fair” or not this is on the owner. The GM executes the directive of the owner/owners. It is naive to think otherwise. Owner signs the checks.
What Toronto did this season might further empower the type of trade that bought in Kawhi. Totally worth winning a chip even if they lose a decade trying to rebuild.
Its a chess game played at a level fans are not privy to know everything.

Swishfm3 wrote:

martin wrote:

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://twitter.com/tommybeer/status/1149482662140116992

Trash...All picks will be in the 20s

Good luck finding another Westbrook and Paul George.

How old will Kawhi, PG, westbrook and harden be in 2025? What happens if PG or Kawhi leave on 2 years? What happens if those players get injured? The picks are largely unprotected

BigDaddyG wrote:

smackeddog wrote:

Swishfm3 wrote:

martin wrote:

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://twitter.com/tommybeer/status/1149482662140116992

Trash...All picks will be in the 20s

Good luck finding another Westbrook and Paul George.

How old will Kawhi, PG, westbrook and harden be in 2025? What happens if PG or Kawhi leave on 2 years? What happens if those players get injured? The picks are largely unprotected

Also, what happens if they lose PG and Kawhi in two years? So many variables...

Yep, I learned my lesson from the eddy curry trade- at the time posters were panicking at the lack of protection on the picks and I said they were worrying unnecessarily because we were going to be too good to end up in the lottery - D'oh!

Bottom line is you never know what might happen and there's nothing worse than watching your team suck through a season knowing they have to give up their top draft pick to another team.